Wide White Wonderland
by ColorRadO
Summary: An avalanche traps fifty people at a ski resort, the Thunderbirds are their only hope.rnYea! chapter four up!
1. Lanche

Umm, I don't own the Thunderbirds, Carlton does. However I do own Eileen, Matt, Chris and just about anyone else you don't recognize.

This is my first TB fic so ENJOY!

* * *

"RUN!"

Came a yell from the slope above Eileen's head "wha... AVALANCHE!" she realized. She jumped up, her feet already strapped to her snowboard, she pointed the nose downhill, and sped as quickly as possible, not bothering to carve for fear it would slow her down. "DAMN! I don't go backcountry because of avalanches, I never thought I get killed in one at a resort" She looked back and saw the rolling white cloud of the avalanche bearing down on her, just as the front edge smashed into her, lifting her up and carrying her along in the cloud. There was snow everywhere, Eileen didn't know which way was up, her eyes widened as she saw a huge block of snow headed straight for her, then she blacked-out.

Matt, seated at a picnic table near the resort, heard the low roar as the avalanche thundered down the crowded slope. "Oh my god, all those people!"

His friend Chris turned to him pale "Matt, wasn't your sister on that run?"

The color drained from Matt's face "Eileen!" he yelled and took off running towards the hill

"No Matt wait!" Chris got up and ran after his friend.

The snow on the hill was beginning to settle, the white surface glinting innocently in the sun, concealing the fifty or so people who had been on the run, the people that were now buried alive.

The Ski Patrol was already beginning to try to organize a rescue, but people were panicking and there were just too many folks that had been caught in the 'lanche. Matt ran up to them, "Aren't you going to do something for those people?" he demanded.

"Sorry bud, we don't have the equipment or the man power, we've called for help, but by the time they get here it will be to late for most of those on the hill." Said on of the patrollers

"WHAT! you're just going to leave them? My sister is up there!" Matt yelled.

Chris, who had just run up asked "Why don't you call International Rescue? They should be able to save a lot of people"

"Great idea! uhh.." the ski patroller broke off.

"I'll call" Matt said getting his cell phone out and dialing.

"International Rescue." An infuriatingly calm voice picked up.

"Listen, mister there's been an avalanche at Monarch Ski Resort in Colorado, It went straight down a major run, took out about fifty people, there is not enough man-power or equipment here, so you had better get help here now!" Matt practically screamed into the phone.

"Whoa! calm down bud, I'll get someone on the way" said the voice "just stay on the line for me uhh..."

"Matt, Matt Sullivan, hurry my little sister is up there!"

John Tracy looked up from his game of solitaire as the console blinked, and beeped, signaling an incoming call, he flipped the mike on and answered "International Rescue." The man on the other end started in on him immediately, telling him about an avalanche in Colorado. "Whoa! calm down bud, I'll get someone on the way" he replied and told the man, Matt he said his name was, to stay on the line. John then reached over and hit the switch that would call his father.

Jeff Tracy's watch beeped and he hit the button on it, his middle son's face looked at him "Go Ahead John." Jeff said.

"Father, there's been an avalanche in Colorado, at a ski resort, they need help finding survivors." John replied.

"Right." Jeff strode off to his office and put his palm on the scanner the changed it to International Rescue's Command and Control Center. His other sons came running into the office.

"What's the situation dad?" the oldest, Scott asked.

"Avalanche at a resort in Colorado." Jeff replied. "I want you out there ASAP."

"F.A.B." Scott went to his picture on the wall and rode the elevator to Thunderbird One's hanger.

"Virgil, take Gordon and Alan in Thunderbird Two, with pod 1, John is the caller still on the line? We need any information they can give us" Jeff finished as the boys headed for Thunderbird Two's hanger.

"Yes dad, I'll connect him, but he is pretty panicked, seems his sister was in the avalanche, his name is Matt." John told his father.

"F.A.B. thanks John"

"Right dad, Thunderbird Five out." John signed off.


	2. TB One

Yeah, I don't own the Thunderbirds! I'm just borrowing them, for this fic, I will return them relatively unscathed.

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_Dark, it's dark. What?_

Eileen regained consensus beneath the snow.

_I can't move my legs, what's going on? Oh my god. The avalanche, it hit me! I have to get out of here before I freeze, or worse, suffocate._

Something warm and wet dripped down her face, she brought her mitten up and wiped it off, then she tasted her mitten.

_Great, blood._

She thought, as she tasted salty copper.

_No wonder my head hurts so much, and my ribs and shoulder. Maybe I can dig myself out. _

She began pounding at the snow surrounding her little air pocket, but to no avail. The avalanche had packed the snow as hard as concrete. Eileen didn't care, she refused to just lay there and wait so she continued pounding on the snow.

* * *

Scott set Thunderbird one down in the icy dirt parking lot, the retros melting the snow beneath it. As he lugged the heavy mobile control unit out of his craft two young men, one with short hair and sideburns and the other with longer curly hair and a goatee, came running up to Scott.

"Your International Rescue Right?" said the curly haired one

"That's right, I'm Scott." Scott replied.

"I'm Chris Johnson." the curly one stated.

"And I'm Matt Sullivan." said the other "How soon can you get to work?"

"I'll find out." Scott said turning on his radio "Thunderbird Two this is Thunderbird One."

A voice crackled on the line "This is Thunderbird Two go ahead."

"Virgil, what's your ETA?" Scott asked.

"Ten point three minutes Scott." the voice answered.

Scott turned back to Chris and Matt "I assume you heard that?"

"yeah." Matt said.

Scott picked up his radio again "Virg, I'm going to do a scan of the avalanche to find the people, when you get here, start offloading the snow rescue equipment."

"F.A.B. Scott, Thunderbird Two Out." Virgil replied.

Scott looked at Matt "Alright, can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"Yeah, I was on the deck" Matt pointed "over there. I heard a 'whoomp' so, I looked up and the 'lanche was rolling down the hill. I think the cornice up there just gave way."

"Okay, I need to do a thermal scan of the hill." Scott said "And the easiest way to do that is a flyby..."

Scott was interrupted by a cheer that erupted from a large group of people on the mountain side "YEEEAAAHHH!!" Two members of the group broke off and ran towards Thunderbird One, it was the Ski Patrol.

One of them yelled at Scott, Matt and Chris "We found them! The ski school group, they're all together, all twenty three of them!"

"Really?" Chris asked.

"Yup, we've got basically a hundred people on the mountain spread out with probes" the patroller replied.

"Good, keep on that." Scott said "Matt, Chris, will you watch mobile control while I do a flyby?"

"Sure, just hurry! There are still more people trapped up there" Matt said.

Scott climbed into his Thunderbird and lifted her off the ground, he circled once and flew towards the mountain.

* * *

A/N: for those of you who don't know, avalanche probes are ten foot tall poles that are stamped into the snow again and again to find people. Hope you enjoyed and I'll try not to leave it hanging for too long.


	3. TB Two

Once again I don't own the Thunderbirds, never will.

Short chapter, hopefully more soon!

* * *

Whump Whump Whump Eileen's mittened fists pounded the snow.

_Whew! God I'm warm, well at least I won't freeze to death. OWWW OWW OW OW! _

Blood dripped from the cut in forehead into one of her eyes, she stopped pounding and rubbed at her now tear filled eyes.

_Jeeze, that smarts! _

Eileen looked around, blinking.

_This is NOT working, maybe if I can get my feet free I can dig myself out with my snowboard._

She struggled to reach her boots and began digging at the snow surrounding her lower legs.

* * *

A low rumble filled the air surrounding the ski resort.

Chris looked around wildly. "Another avalanche?" he asked.

"Nah." Matt said, pointing upwards. "Looks like the other International Rescue guys are here."

The massive green bulk of Thunderbird Two banked gracefully, and came in for a perfect vertical landing. It touched down in the snow just in front of the resort's main lodge and behind the halted ski-lifts. From the pilot's seat Virgil Tracy hit the switch that raised the craft from its pod. "Gordon, Alan start unloading the digging equipment. I'm going to check in with Scott and see how things are going." He said.

"F-A-B Virgil," the two youngest Tracys replied in unison as they disappeared into the pod.

Virgil turned on his radio "Thunderbird One this is Thunderbird Two, do you copy?"

"Reading you five by five Virg, I just finished the scan, am downloading heat signatures to you now." Came Scott's answer.

"Right Scott, it looks like Gordon and Alan have just about finished offloading equipment, we're going to head to the first heat signature" Virgil said as he exited his craft. He hopped into the Digger alongside Gordon and they headed up the mountain, to the first of seven different heat signatures, a small pocket in the middle of a black run called Tango.

A/N: Ski runs have three classifications green-easy, blue-difficult, black-expert.


	4. Digging

A/N: Sorry about the long wait, what with school-work I haven't had much time. Now that the holidays are here I have more time and should have another chappy up quite soon. Ah, thanks to my betas Stacia and Mo, thanks to all who have reviewed, it is much appreciated and I would love to get more (wink)

_God, I'm so cold. If I just take a little nap maybe... _

Eileen's eyelids fluttered closed and her head started to fall forwards, suddenly her eyes snapped open.

_NO! come on Eileen, get a grip! If you go to sleep you'll freeze to death._

She reached a hand up and brushed at the snow on her face.

_Hmmm, my nose isn't cold, wait my nose isn't anything! Oh shit. Frostbite._

Narrowing and crossing her eyes in an attempt to get a good look at her own nose she started giggling.

_Oh man, what are people going to think if they find me like this? I'd probable get put in a nice, soft, white room where I couldn't hurt myself, if I'm good they might even give me a mirror to look at my poor frost-bitten nose._

The Digger shuddered to halt in the middle of a slope; Gordon and Alan hopped out and moved closer to a pile of snow. Alan consulted a hand-held thermal scanner "This is the spot Gords, tell Virgil to start digging."

"F-A-B, Al," Gordon help up his radio "Go-ahead Virg,"

Virgil gave Gordon a thumbs-up from in side the digging machine that roared to life and trundled forward. He manipulated the controls to bring the bucket down, scooping up snow and debris, and depositing it neatly in a pile. It was slow, careful work; one wrong move could seriously injure the person they were trying to save.

Gordon gave a yelp and radioed Virgil again "Stop! I see him," He and Alan clambered down into the hole, to the older man trapped in the snow. "Sir? Sir, are you alright?"

"'Course I am you young whippersnappers! I just can't move," The man snapped.

Alan started shoving snow to the side, soon he had the man uncovered. "Come on sir, lets get you down the hill" he said as Gordon helped the man stand up.

"Much obliged," the man, thanking them "But I think I can make it myself, you 'uns have more people to save" he set off down the hill, leaving Alan and Gordon staring after him.

"Well," said Gordon finally "Lets roll"

The three young rescuers moved along the slope recovering four more people, one of whom didn't survive the long, cold wait. Gordon and Alan carefully wrapped the body and placed it on the back of the Digger to be taken to waiting loved ones.

"That's five, how many more left Virgil?" asked Alan.

"Just two Al" Virgil replied as he moved the Digger along.

Gordon radioed Scott "Mobile Control this is Digger, have recovered four living and one body."

"Thanks Gordo," Scott answered, sensing the fatigue in his younger brother's voice he asked "How's everyone holding up?"

"Were fine Scott," Virgil answered for Gordon "Just approaching the next recovery area now"


End file.
